Trump seems to rule out deeper US intervention in Syria

"The world's two primary nuclear powers can not have this kind of relationship", Tillerson said Wednesday in Moscow after hours of meetings with Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"The perspective of the United States is that the recent chemical weapons attack carried out by Syria was planned, directed and executed by Syrian regime forces".

U.S. warships deployed to the eastern Mediterranean launched a barrage of 59 Tomahawk missiles against Shayrat Airfield, southeast of the western Syrian city of Homs, on April 7. However, Lavrov said after the meeting that both countries have agreed to the need for objective investigation.

The two leaders were expected to discuss disagreement about whether Syrian President Bashar Assad or his opposition was responsible for a chemical weapons attack last week that led to USA retaliatory cruise missiles.

Trump also warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in backing Assad, is supporting someone who is "truly an evil person". Russia Wednesday vetoed a Western draft Security Council resolution on an alleged chemical attack in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib.

Russian Federation said the US strike was illegal though and Lavrov repeated Moscow's stance on Wednesday, saying an worldwide investigation should be left to determine who was to blame and what happened.

Lavrov said the meeting between Tillerson and Putin lasted for over two hours. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are pressing the Trump administration to escalate military efforts to protect the Syrian people against President Bashar Assad. However, while Lavrov said that he didn't want to "shield anyone", he asserted once again that Russian Federation didn't believe the Syrian government was behind the chemical attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib, Syria. "There hasn't been a single fact, although under the pressure of President Donald Trump's foes the White House has been forced to periodically make statements containing unfounded accusations against us".

"The working level of confidence in Russian-American relations, especially at the military level, under the administration of Donald Trump, has not improved, but rather worsened".

But he also appeared to rule out deeper involvement, saying: "Are we going to get involved with Syria? No".

Moscow has insisted that the civilians who died there were killed by toxic agents released from a rebel chemical arsenal struck by Syrian warplanes.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that "if it is decided" that the Russian president needs to be briefed on the outcome of the Tillerson-Lavrov talks, he will meet them.

Haley, the United Nations envoy, said removing Assad from power was a priority, whereas Tillerson said he merely "hoped" the Syrian people would choose to oust Assad and reiterated that defeating ISIS was the US' first priority in Syria.

Steeped in geopolitical intrigue, the meeting between Putin and Tillerson wasn't formally confirmed until the last minute, following days of speculation about whether the Russian would refuse to grant the former oil executive an audience. The U.S. says the United Nations doesn't need action from the U.S.to investigate because there are already mechanisms in place to investigate chemical weapons use in Syria.

After the senators unanimously voted to pass the address, Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said that the document would be forwarded to foreign parliaments and global inter-parliamentary bodies in the nearest future.